Felix Gall (Decathlon CMA CGM Team) finished second on stage 14 of the Giro d'Italia 2026, limiting his losses to Jonas Vingegaard (Team Visma | Lease a Bike) on a day he described as one of his worst mountain days. The Austrian retook a podium place on the 133km Alpine stage from Aosta to Pila, moving back up to third overall, 24 seconds behind Afonso Eulálio (Bahrain Victorious) in second.
"I was not feeling super good today," Gall said at the finish on Cycling Pro Net's YouTube channel. The heat was the main issue for the Austrian, who suffered in the 30 degree heat in the first Alpine test of the race. The combination of altitude and temperature left him struggling earlier than expected on the final ascent to Pila. "With the heat and, yeah, some days it is a bit easier and others you have to work a bit harder. Today I was suffering," he continued.
Gall said he had hoped to follow Vingegaard's attack but recognised on the lower slopes that the legs were not there. When Davide Piganzoli set the pace ahead of Vingegaard's stage-winning move, Gall could barely hold on. Once the Dane accelerated clear, the gap opened and Gall finished 49 seconds behind, unable to respond but still riding away from every other GC contender on the mountain. "I was dying in the last few kilometres but, I still made time on the guys. Well... Except for Jonas (Vingegaard)."
On reacting to Vingegaard's attack, Gall said "I was hoping to be in his wheel but I could already feel that I wasn't even going to try." Gall explained. "It would have been too risky as I didn't have the legs and with the heat also, so I immediately settled into my own pace and it was nice to have no-one on my wheel so I could focus on myself."
Even on a day he considered subpar, Gall still produced the best result of anyone chasing Vingegaard. He overtook Thymen Arensman to reclaim third overall and now holds a gap of around 1:45 back to Michael Storer in seventh, giving him a useful buffer heading into a demanding final week.
The pattern across the race's summit finishes has been consistent. On Corno alle Scale, Gall finished closest to Vingegaard and ceded 11 seconds plus bonuses. On Blockhaus, the margin was 13 seconds. On Pila, the gap grew, but so did the distance to everyone else. But Gall knows that beating Vingegaard is near impossible without a disaster for the Dane, so he is full focus on that second step on the podium.
"This is the whole objective for the three weeks." stated the Austrian. "There is no point of thinking of beating Jonas, it is more of a race for the podium for me."
He isn't completely ruling out going for the pink jersey if the chance came to him, but he is keeping a steady head as they look towards a mountainous final week. "I'm not giving up." Gall said. "But, I can only do my best every day. We've had three mountain top finishes and I don't think I was anywhere near him, especially today. But there is no shame in that."
The numbers make pink difficult: Gall sits 2:50 behind Vingegaard in the general classification, and the Dane has looked strongest whenever the gradient tips upward. But the gap to Eulálio in second is just 24 seconds, and the podium fight remains wide open.
Stage 14 confirmed that Gall can limit the damage in the mountains better than most of his rivals. He rode below his best, knew it before the decisive moment came, and still came away with a stage result and GC position that strengthened his race. The final week will test that again, with the heat, Gall's form and Vingegaard's strength likely to decide whether the picture changes.
Cover photo: Zac Williams/SWpix.com
